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Great power from the inside and outside

Malakhov V.S.,

RANEPA, Moscow, Russia, malakhov-vs@ranepa.ru

elibrary_id: 223604 |

Article received: 2025.09.10 12:57. Accepted: 2025.12.12 12:57


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2026.02.13
EDN: TNLCFK

Rubric: Reflecting on matters in print

For citation:

Malakhov V.S. Great power from the inside and outside. – Polis. Political Studies. 2026. No. 2. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2026.02.13. EDN: TNLCFK (In Russ.)

Abstract

This paper is a critical response to the book by A. Reshetnikov “Chasing Greatness. On Russia’s Discursive Interaction with the West over the Past Millenium” (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2024), which was published in Russian translation (Moscow: New Literary Observer, 2024). The author highlights the proposal to distinguish four modes of great-power discourse as the most productive idea of this book: absolute, theatrical, civilizational, and international-socialist. Each of these modes has its own specific goal-setting and functionality. By reconstructing the main arguments of the book, the author places it in a broader context. This context is set by publications under the rubric “understanding Russia” – a tradition from which Reshetnikov himself tries to distance himself. This attempt, however, has its costs: the author’s conclusions are extremely ambivalent. On the one hand, he takes exensive historical excursions, constructing a continuum of thinking of Russian ruling elites from the 11th century to the present, thereby inviting deterministic interpretations of Russian foreign policy. On the other hand, he makes many reservations indicating that he is not a supporter of historical determinism.

Keywords

Sovereignty, foreign policy, international relations, geopolitics, great power.

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